A POLICE boss has called on the Government to help judges impose tougher sentences on dangerous drivers.

Julia Mulligan, North Yorkshire’s police and crime commissioner, is supporting The Press's Road To Justice campaign to see those who kill or seriously injure on the roads locked up for longer.

We are calling on the Government to re-write sentencing guidelines to give judges more power.

Mrs Mulligan is backing the campaign and believes families should feel justice has been served when they leave court.

She said: “If vehicles are used as weapons and they inflict serious harm or death on someone then the penalty that the judicial system imposes needs to reflect the harm done to victims and their families.

“There is a gap at the moment and families seem to be leaving court with a sense of injustice.

“There are a number of different aspects and this is not just sentencing guidelines, but taking into consideration the impact on others.

“If sentencing guidelines can be changed to provide better justice for people that has to be welcomed.”

York Press: Road to Justice embed

Mrs Mulligan wants judges to to have more power to sentence dangerous drivers for longer, and said all factors should be taken into account by a judge.

“A judge needs to have discretion to sentence around particular cases and consider the circumstances,” she added.

“There was a case recently where a driver was caught using his mobile phone numerous times and killed someone.

“That kind of repetitive bad behaviour leading to a death is shocking.

“If guidelines can be changed to come down hard on a person like that it will be a good thing.”

Judges are bound by strict guidelines which limit the sentences they can hand down.

We believe those guidelines need to change to give victims and families a sense of justice when they walk out of the courtroom to begin rebuilding their lives.

To support the campaign, go to https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/156369 and sign the petition to urge MPs to take action.